Squashing college dreams, in a good way

With few squash courts available to the public or in schools, it is hardly the first sport that comes to mind when students think of pursuing athletic scholarships.

And that’s exactly why they should.

For the past 10 years, the nonprofit Access Youth Academy in Sorrento Valley has taught squash and tutored low-income students who went on to earn academic and athletic scholarships at top universities, and it has big plans to expand in the next few years..

The logic is easy to grasp: students who excel at a sport that few youths play have less competition at getting an athletic scholarship than students who play basketball, football or other popular spots.

There’s more to it than that, however.

“The squash piece is just the carrot,” said Renato Paiva, a Brazilian champion of the sport and executive director of Access Youth Academy. “We get them to improve grades and help them with health and wellness. We happen to play squash as well, but our business is to get students into college.”

Alejandra Perez, 17, is a national squash champion who learned the game at the nonprofit after-school tutoring program Access Youth Academy in Sorrento Valley. Hayne Palmour IV

The academy works with the Preuss School UC San Diego, a college-preparatory school for students in sixth through ninth grade from low-income families.

Founded by Greg Scherman and Chris Walker in 2006, the academy is a non-profit that operates out of San Diego Squash, one of only two squash clubs, and the only public one, in the county.

“Squash on the West Coast is like beach volleyball in Alaska,” said Paiva, 37, a former assistant coach for Harvard University’s squash teams.

The program provides squash and tutoring for 100 students 46 weeks a year. Visits are staggered, with just 25 there at any one day.

In the past five years, students from the academy have taken in $4.6 million in scholarships, both academic and athletic.

“In four to five years, we’ve put players in top slots in Ivy League schools,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of success, with 13 national titles from our students in the last 10 years.”

Among the national title holders are Alejandra Perez, 17, a member the 2015 national champion team for girls 15 and under, and part of the 2016 champion team for 17 and under. Natalie Ruybal, 17, was one of her teammates on the 2015 championship.

“I had no idea what squash was,” Alejandra said, recalling the day someone came into her class to tell her about the program in 2011.

“At the beginning, I just tried my best,” she said. “My goal was always to be in the top five, and I managed to do that throughout the year.”

Head coach Eric Malo talks to Access Youth Academy students during a squash practice session at San Diego Squash in San Diego on Wednesday. | Hayne Palmour IV

Besides honing her squash skills, Alejandra saw her grades improve over the years.

“Before I started Access, I was an average student,” she said. “But due to all the help and the motivation they give you, I’m 4.0, a straight-A student.”

Natalie, who would like to study animation at Yale, California Institute of the Arts or University of Southern California, also said she knew nothing about the sport before joining the academy.

“My first thought was, ‘Why squash?’” she said about the sport’s name. “Squash is such a weird name. But then when we started playing, I was like, ‘Oh, this is really cool.’”

“People like to make fun of the name at school,” Alajandra said. “They say, ‘You play what? Squash? Like the vegetable?’”

Besides the six-year program from middle to high school, academy tutors stay in touch with students throughout college and even post-college, helping graduate students as far away as Maine with financial aid, internships and other issues.

Paiva said the academy is planning to expand and serve students from low-income families in other areas. It already is working in a pilot program with Hoover High School and Monroe Clark Middle School, and he said he would like to include Lincoln High and Gompers Preparatory Academy.

In its biggest expansion plan, Paiva said Access Youth Academy has received a $1 million California Endowment grant, which is enough to purchase a 40,000-square-foot lot near Lincoln and Gompers to build its own facility.

Gala planned

Access Youth Academy is holding a 10-year anniversary fundraising gala Oct. 22 at the San Diego Hall of Champions. For information, look in the “get involved” section of the group’s website, http://accessyouthacademy.org.

Another $8 million has to be raised, but Paiva said he hopes the project could be open in two or three years. If the plans come to fruition, the new building would have an after-school program for 150 students and would provide squash courts as part of physical education for about 1,000 Lincoln High School students each year, he said.